What You'll Sorely Miss
by Gandalf3213
Summary: What would happen if Fred was picked as the other Hogwarts champion instead of Diggory? How would he and Harry help each other? And who ends up dying in the graveyard?
1. First Task

**I don't own Harry Potter.**

_Dumbledore reached out and grabbed the last piece of parchment. He read it in a slow, clear voice: Harry Potter._

"Harry!"

Harry turned to find Fred Weasley shouting at him. He stoooed, waiting of the tall seventh year to catch up. "Hello, Fred." Harry said warily. Fred frowned slightly as he heard calls down the hallway at them.

Fred leaned closer, looking concerned. "Harry, were you serious? About the first task being…dragons?" Harry nodded and Fred straightened up, looking anxious. "And do you have any idea how to get past a dragon?" Harry shook his head. "Me neither. Well, at least we'll both look like fools."

The bell rang, and Fred clasped Harry on the back. "Don't let them get to you, mate." He muttered to Harry, and Harry suddenly felt very glad that it was Fred he was sharing this particular experience with.

Since that terrible night when his name came out of the goblet Harry had found himself rejected by many people, Gryffendors included. His own house felt that he was taking the glory away from the "real" champion. Worse still, Ron had started ignoring him.

Fred, who's name had also appeared out of the goblet, seemed to be the only person who knew what he was going through. On their walk back to the dormitory after hearing the news, he had confided in Harry. "I didn't want to champion at all. I was in it for the laughs. You'll probably be better than me." He mussed Harry's hair affectionately, then his face clouded. "I don't want to see George's reaction, though, he really wanted this. Do you think Dumbledore can tell us apart? He can participate instead of me."

Harry told him that he was sure that Dumbledore knew everything, and he would be able to tell the twins apart. It turned out that Fred needn't worry about George. He was waiting outside the Fat Lady's portrait.

"Fred!" He said, looking relieved. They stared at each other for a moment with such intensity that Harry found himself looking away. Suddenly, George rushed forward to grasp his brother, holding him in a tight embrace. "I'm sorry." He murmured, pushing Fred away after a moment. "And if I can help…"

That was the night his name had come out of the goblet. Now suddenly he was in the tent, sitting next to Fred as they waited to be called to battle against the dragons.

"Don't worry," Fred muttered to Harry, who was staring straight ahead, concentrating on not being sick. "Charlie's worried sick about you. Any sign that that Horntail's going to lunge and he'll get you out of there." Fred started when his name was called and stood up hurriedly. "Good luck, Harry. You deserve it."

Harry wished he didn't have to hear Fred's fight. He heard Bagman scream something about "bad luck" and wondered if Fred was injured. His stomach gave a painful lurch at the thought. Finally, the egg was captured and Harry had to prepare himself for his turn.

On his way out to the stadium Harry past Fred who was being rushed into the medical tent by Madame Pomfrey, one side of his face red and blistered, obscuring his eye. He shrugged out of the witch's grip when they past. "They're not really that bad, dragons." Fred said, winking at Harry with his good eye. Harry shook his head, feeling that Fred was one to talk.

The match was a blur. He vaguely remembered calling his firebolt, barely recalled getting cut by the Horntail's razor-sharp spikes, and almost forgot reaching the golden egg.

It was in the medical tent that Harry finally stopped shaking. It was occupied by only himself, Fred, and George. Fred was sitting up on the cot, half of his face covered in yellow paste, as he tried to reassure his twin that he was fine, thank you, and he wasn't going to die.

"You sure?" George cocked an eyebrow and stared at the paste on Fred's face. Fred swatted him, "You're worse than mum, George, now go away, I'm fine."

Both boys left the room when Ron and Hermione rushed in, looking terrified. Fred gave Harry a knowing look before disappearing out of the tent flap.

**I know that this is probably making no sense to anyone but me, but review anyway.**


	2. Second Task Part 1

_**I own it not**_

_Too late, it's gone, it won't come back._

Harry returned to the common room to find it deserted. He frowned, having expected to find Ron and Hermione back there. A shift in the darkness made him re-examine the room. But it wasn't Ron or Hermione that emerged into the light cast by the dancing fire, it was Fred.

"Harry?" Fred had obviously thought he was someone else as well and collapsed into a nearby armchair, eyebrows close together, breathing hard.

Harry sat down opposite Fred, dumping the many books onto the table. "What's wrong, Fred?"

Fred looked up at Harry, who was surprised to find tears streaming down the face that was littered with freckles. "I think….I think George is hurt, Harry. And I think it has to do with the tournament."

Harry shook his head, indicating that Fred was still not making any sense. Fred ran a hand through his hair, reminding Harry of Ron for an instant and bringing back the fears of his own friends.

"Lee thinks I'm off my rocker, but George has been missing all day. He left with McGonagal during our last class." He faced the fire now, twirling his dark wand in his thin fingers. "And you remember what the egg said '_we've taken what you'll sorely miss'._"

Harry hadn't thought about this, but it made sense. George would, of course, be the thing  _Not a thing._ He reminded himself._ It was never a thing. The person ___ that Fred would miss most. Ron was his, obviously. And Hermione…was Krum's. This new take on the task made Harry gulp audibly.

"See, you believe me." Fred got up, suddenly pacing in front of the fire. "And I think that they're in the lake somewhere. My brother is in the lake!" he was suddenly angry and red sparks erupted from the tip of his wand.

"Fred…" Harry began, trying to mask his own worries. "Fred, I'm sure Dumbledore wouldn't let anything happen to George." _Or Ron_. He added silently. Fred stopped pacing and stood in front of the fire, breathing hard.

"George, Harry." Fred began, his voice heavy with emotion. "God, this is so low. I didn't want this!" He seemed to deflate. "And to bring George into it….it's not fair."

"Life isn't fair." Harry said dully, repeating the old adage. Fred let out a sigh, his fist beating uselessly against the mantelpiece.

They were like that for some time. Harry was half-convinced that Fred had fallen asleep standing up when he said. "And you? Who'd they take?" he barely paused before he answered his own question. "Ron."

"And Hermione." Then adding, at Fred's questioning look, "For Krum, I think."

Fred whirled around, "I think…I think I'm going to bed. Goodnight Harry."

"'Night Fred."

The lake was dark. Harry found himself swimming beside Fred as they neared the mer-city. Fred' s head was distorted because of the charm he had used but even so Harry could see the look of pained disbelief that had been their since their conversation the night before.

The way to the statue could not have been more clear if there had been signs. Harry was surprised that he and Fred were the first ones there. The heads of his friends seemed pale against the darkness of the deep lake. Ron was tied between Hermione and a little girl. George was bound by a separate rope. It looked as if there had been a fight. Dried blood caked a deep wound on his shoulder and he seemed paler than the others if possible.

Fred emitted a low moan that was audible through the bubble he wore on his head. Harry understood his emotions. He was feeling them himself.

Harry tried to borrow a spear from a nearby merperson, who merely laughed. Frustrated that he was not better prepared, Harry dived to the bottom and returned with a sharp rock. He hacked at the ropes and they fell away within a minute. He handed the rock to Fred who had been trying unsuccessfully to sever the ropes with magic. Holding Ron by the neck of his robes he started upwards.

His head broke the surface just as the effects of the Gillyweed were wearing off. He dragged Ron the rest of the way up. As air reached his face he suddenly expelled a great spout of water. "Wet, this, isn't it?"

Harry wasn't listening. He looked around, knowing that Fred hadn't been too far behind. Ron had noticed too. "Have you seen…?" his voice trailed off at the sight of a sudden uprush of air bubbles. Fred's head emerged from the water. In his arms was George. More cuts had been added to the old ones and covered his face and arms. One particularly nasty one sliced open his chest. Harry and Ron both gasped.

"Help!" Fred cried, very white and shaking. "Help! Please!" He was struggling to hold his twin up. He hadn't re-awaken as Ron had. Harry's heart started beating much too fast.

A splash next to them alerted them to the arrival of Percy. He, Ron, Harry, and Fred tugged the unconscious George to shore. Madame Pomfrey was at the side of the lake, looking distressed. "Stand aside!" she commanded with authority. Harry, Ron, and Percy backed away. Harry and Ron were shivering in the cold February air. Fred stayed next to George, half-hunched over him. For the first time Harry noticed that Fred had far worse cuts on his arms, though none were as deep as the one on George's chest. He had obviously tried to take most of the beating from whatever attacked him.

Madame Pomfrey's face softened at Fred's reluctance to move. "He needs help now, Mr.Weasley. But you can stay close."

Professor McGonagal, abandoning her place in the stands, wrapped thick blankets around Harry and Ron. She tried to wrap up Fred as well. "No, Professor. Please, just help George." His face was so beseeching, his tone so helpless that Harry had the urge to reach out and hug him. Percy did, wrapping his thin arms around his brother, who was taller than he was. "He's alright, Freddie." Percy muttered, never taking his eyes off George, who still hadn't regained consciousness.

Hermione and Krum climbed out the lake next. Hermione stood next to Ron. "What's going on?" she asked, looking from Ron to Fred to George. "What happened?"

"Dunno." Ron said, looking upset. He was still shaking, though he was nearly dry.

Professor McGonagal was leaning over George now. "How did this happen?" she asked sharply, her fingers reaching for George's neck.

"Grindylows. Massive ones. At least eight feet across." Fred's voice was detached, expressionless, his eyes transfixed on George. "Attacked me from behind. I nearly dropped him." He shuddered at the thought. "Wands don't work underwater. I was tired. I couldn't fight. I tried to take most of it but one got a lucky swipe." He gazed imploringly at McGonagal. "Please, Professor, is he going to live?"

"Yes." Was her short reply. She waved her wand once over George's body as Madame Pomfrey tried to clean out the wounds. "But it was close. He won't be awake for…three days, I think."

Fred sank to the ground, his body still trembling. He looked like ht couldn't stand up even if he wanted too. Harry through his own towel around the boy and Percy took his hands, rubbing them to warm them up. "Shock, I think." He muttered to no one in particular. Fred was gazing with unseeing eyes at the place where Fred had been and Harry knew he was remembering the strange, glassy look of George's eyes. Then the tears started flowing.

**Please review.**


	3. Second Task Part 2

_"And there's its twin. Unnatural little beasts they are."_

Fred didn't leave the hospital wing.

He seemed unable to move, drawn to his brother's side, his eyes unable to wrench themselves away from his bruised, broken body. Ron and Ginny sometimes joined him, but mostly his company was Harry and Lee, who seemed to have been drawn to the bed by the same mysterious force that was holding Fred captive.

"I asked Dumbledore if I could drop out of the tournament."

Fred didn't turn to Harry when he said this. He had ordered Lee to go to the Tower for some sleep, something none of them had had since the Task three days ago. His hand was clasping George's, his eyes searching his face for a glimmer of consciousness. "I didn't mind it when it was just me I was fighting for, but then they took George...he nearly drowned, Harry, and almost died because of those Grindylows." he took a deep, shuddering breath.

"Fred..." Harry's voice was quiet and low, "There's only one task left. You can beat this." he didn't like to think about Fred dropping out, though he knew how he was thinking. Fred thought that it was his fault George had been hurt. It wasn't true, of course, but that didn't matter to Fred. Harry didn't tell him how he had asked Dumbeldore the same thing.

"He said I couldn't."

"I know."

They sat in silence for a while, watching George, who still lay unmoving in the bed. His chest was wrapped with a thick bandage, all the other cuts had been mended by magic right after he'd been taken from the lake. The bandage stood out oddly white against George's pale skin.

The sky outside the room darkened to a navy blue which entered quickly into a pitch black. Harry moved slightly. "You should come back to the Common Room, Fred. It doesn't look like you've slept properly since the last Task."

Fred smiled a little, gesturing to his twin, who lay, apparently sleeping in the hospital bed. "Can't Harry, I need to stay with him. I owe him that, at least. And I don't want him to wake up alone."

Harry shook his head, remembering something Ron had said years ago on their first train to Hogwarts. "Fred and George...well, they're a bit odd. I swear I wouldn't be able to recognize one if he were without the other. Living their lives in each other's pockets. I guess it's a twin thing. Must be."

Harry got up to leave. "Goodnight, Fred. I hope..." he left his sentance and shrugged, turning away. A small noise made him turn back.

"Oh, finally." Fred stood up over the bed, nearly hiding the form of George, but Harry could see the open eyes. He smiled and returned to the bed side. "How are you feeling, George?"

"Like I swollowed half the lake." George croaked, but managed a weak smile. "Wha' happened, Fred?"

Fred's hand again wound around George's, "Oh, nothing, you just nearly drowned." he smiled. "I was worried about you."

"How long was I out?" George glanced around the darkened infirmary, which was occupied by only the three of them.

"Three days." Harry answered, pushing his glasses back up the bridge of his nose, smiling at George. "Since the Second Task."

George looked surprised. "Oh...how'd it go? Did you win?" He gasped at a sudden pain and collapsed back into the pillows, his face green, his breathing erratic. Fred's grip tightened on George's fingers, as if he could take the pain awkay just by squeezing hard enough.

Harry glanced between the two boys, feeling as if he were intruding on something private. He bit his lip, then decided to answer the question as delicately as he could. "Er...no, George. You...you came in third, after me and Krum but before Fleur."

"Oh." George's look of disappointment at losing the Task seemed greater than his pain. He turned to his brother, who was still crouched beside his bed. "'M Sorry, Fred, that's all my fault."

Harry's eyebrows came together in the middle. "How do you work that one out, George?"

George swollowed, looking bashful. "Well, in the lake, I..." he paused before plunging on. "I heard your voice, Fred. And you sounded worried, and you were saying how you didn't know where I was, and how you thought something might have happened to me. And then I remembered that _I_ didn't know where I was, and I...I woke up." he looked between the two other boys appologeticaly . "It was kind of the one thing Professor McGonagal told us not to do, you see."

"I still..." Fred began, looking confused, but George cut him off with his next statement."

"The merpeople weren't real pleased at me waking up. Partly cause I started choking because there was no air, but mostly because I was thrashing around, trying to get out." he fliched at the memory, as if by thinking it was causing him physical pain. "So one of them hit me here," he pointed to the bandage that covered his signature Weasley hair, "And they put me under the same spell McGonagal had all of us under. Merpeople have their own magic, like house-elves." he explained to Harry's questioning look.

"Then when I woke up the next time, we were sorounded by Grindylows, and Fred's Charm was starting to wear off, and there were fingers and teeth all around us. I panicked, started flailing again before I got this." this time he pointed to the cut in his chest. "After that...I don't remember much. But I must have slowed you up a lot, Fred. I'm sorry." he said again, looking down at his heavily bandaged hands, still entwined with Fred's equally injured ones.

Fred kissed the boys' hands, and Harry noticed tears in his eyes. "It's not your fault, George. It's mine, for not seeing those monsters. Or the Grindylows. Or the whole Tornament's fault." a single tear splashed onto the perfectly white bedsheet. "I don't care about winning anymore. I just want to get out of all of this, and I need you to come with me."

Harry, feeling awkward and unnoticed, took the moment of silence as a chance to slip out. Ron and Lee would be glad to know that George was awake. He would tell them, and wanr them not to worry if the twins didn't come back to the dormatory before the next morning.

**Okay, that chapter took _forever_. It kept on getting deleated. Ugh. So if it isn't that great, blame the computer, which I currently hate.**

**But review. Like, soon.**


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